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Manufacturing Compass

Delaware manufacturing

Private-sector manufacturing (NAICS 31–33), annual average for 2022. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages.

01Core measures

Delaware manufacturing in 2022

Totals and averages for all private manufacturing employers in Delaware combined. They describe the industry statewide, not any individual plant or company.

Establishments

773

Worksites, annual average of quarterly counts

U.S.
380,711
Share of U.S.Calc
0.2%

Employment

26,227

Jobs, annual average of monthly counts

U.S.
12,759,129
Share of U.S.Calc
0.2%

Total wages

$1.9 billion

Nominal dollars, sum of four quarters

U.S.
$1 trillion
Share of U.S.Calc
0.2%

Average weekly wage

$1,415

Nominal dollars per job

U.S.
$1,529
vs. U.S.Calc
−7.5%

Average annual pay

$73,557

Nominal dollars per job

U.S.
$79,483
vs. U.S.Calc
−7.5%

Location quotient

0.67

Employment concentration vs. U.S.

U.S.
1.00

Manufacturing's share of all jobs in Delaware is 0.67 times its share of all U.S. jobs.

Calcmarks our calculations from BLS figures (formulas below). All other values are published by BLS.

02Subsectors

Where manufacturing jobs are

The 21 three-digit NAICS manufacturing subsectors, largest employment first. 4 are withheld by BLS (“Not disclosed”). Subsectors therefore may not add up to the manufacturing total.

  • 311Food manufacturing
    Employment
    9,054
    Establishments
    70
    Avg. annual pay
    $54,961
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −5.0%
    Location quotient
    1.75
  • 325Chemical manufacturing
    Employment
    2,726
    Establishments
    116
    Avg. annual pay
    $111,532
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +1.6%
    Location quotient
    1.00
  • 334Computer and electronic product manufacturing
    Employment
    2,547
    Establishments
    60
    Avg. annual pay
    $110,017
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −25.0%
    Location quotient
    0.77
  • 326Plastics and rubber products manufacturing
    Employment
    1,676
    Establishments
    47
    Avg. annual pay
    $60,798
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −5.1%
    Location quotient
    0.73
  • 332Fabricated metal product manufacturing
    Employment
    1,200
    Establishments
    103
    Avg. annual pay
    $60,797
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −9.2%
    Location quotient
    0.28
  • 339Miscellaneous manufacturing
    Employment
    1,168
    Establishments
    64
    Avg. annual pay
    $64,618
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −14.0%
    Location quotient
    0.61
  • 333Machinery manufacturing
    Employment
    1,122
    Establishments
    37
    Avg. annual pay
    $66,285
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −18.1%
    Location quotient
    0.33
  • 335Electrical equipment, appliance, and component manufacturing
    Employment
    952
    Establishments
    18
    Avg. annual pay
    $83,561
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +7.4%
    Location quotient
    0.77
  • 322Paper manufacturing
    Employment
    877
    Establishments
    10
    Avg. annual pay
    $74,167
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −3.2%
    Location quotient
    0.79
  • 337Furniture and related product manufacturing
    Employment
    829
    Establishments
    30
    Avg. annual pay
    $51,416
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −4.5%
    Location quotient
    0.72
  • 327Nonmetallic mineral product manufacturing
    Employment
    692
    Establishments
    33
    Avg. annual pay
    $68,513
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −1.5%
    Location quotient
    0.55
  • 312Beverage and tobacco product manufacturing
    Employment
    688
    Establishments
    27
    Avg. annual pay
    $43,791
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −24.1%
    Location quotient
    0.69
  • 324Petroleum and coal products manufacturing
    Employment
    611
    Establishments
    12
    Avg. annual pay
    $155,872
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +17.6%
    Location quotient
    1.91
  • 336Transportation equipment manufacturing
    Employment
    451
    Establishments
    22
    Avg. annual pay
    $83,319
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −1.1%
    Location quotient
    0.09
  • 323Printing and related support activities
    Employment
    370
    Establishments
    70
    Avg. annual pay
    $55,893
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −2.4%
    Location quotient
    0.32
  • 321Wood product manufacturing
    Employment
    327
    Establishments
    24
    Avg. annual pay
    $60,600
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +2.3%
    Location quotient
    0.25
  • 314Textile product mills
    Employment
    71
    Establishments
    15
    Avg. annual pay
    $49,386
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −0.9%
    Location quotient
    0.22
  • 331Primary metal manufacturing
    Employment
    Not disclosed
    Establishments
    9
    Avg. annual pay
    Not disclosed
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    —
    Location quotient
    Not disclosed
  • 313Textile mills
    Employment
    Not disclosed
    Establishments
    4
    Avg. annual pay
    Not disclosed
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    —
    Location quotient
    Not disclosed
  • 315Apparel manufacturing
    Employment
    Not disclosed
    Establishments
    4
    Avg. annual pay
    Not disclosed
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    —
    Location quotient
    Not disclosed
  • 316Leather and allied product manufacturing
    Employment
    Not disclosed
    Establishments
    1
    Avg. annual pay
    Not disclosed
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    —
    Location quotient
    Not disclosed

03By year

Delaware manufacturing, 2022–2025

Wages are in nominal dollars (not adjusted for inflation). BLS cautions that QCEW is not designed as a time series, so treat year-to-year differences as indicative.

Private manufacturing in Delaware by year, annual averages, nominal dollars
YearEmploymentAvg. annual payvs. U.S.Calc
202226,227$73,557−7.5%
202326,818$74,278−10.0%
202426,676$76,813−10.1%
202526,680$79,420−11.2%

04About this data

Source, definitions, and limits

Source
BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages
File
data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2022/a/industry/31_33.csv
Retrieved
October 12, 2026 (UTC)
Period
Annual average, 2022 (final BLS data)
Industry
NAICS 2022, sector 31–33 and its three-digit subsectors
Ownership
Private employers only
Geography
Statewide; compared with the U.S. total
Citation
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW).

What these numbers cover

  • Jobs reported to state unemployment insurance programs, about 95% of U.S. wage and salary jobs. Self-employed workers and proprietors are excluded; people with two jobs may be counted twice.
  • Averages describe all employers combined and do not represent any single manufacturer. Where a subsector has few establishments or jobs, its averages can swing widely and are less representative.
  • Not disclosed: BLS withheld the value to protect employer confidentiality. It is never shown as zero. No BLS data: BLS publishes no figures for that combination.

Calculations

  • Share of U.S. = state value ÷ U.S. value.
  • vs. U.S. = state value ÷ U.S. value − 1.
  • Both inputs come from the same BLS file: same year, industry, and ownership. Not calculated when either value is withheld (shown as —).
  • Location quotient is published by BLS: the industry's share of all local jobs (all industries and ownerships) divided by its share nationally.

Read our methodology